Joined the gym & Protein Drinks - Need some advice please!

Gibbo

Gibbo

Gibbo

OcUK Staff
Joined
17 Oct 2002
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Hi there

Well joined the gym a couple of weeks ago and to begin with was just doing my own thing, so say 60 mins cardio, mainly a mixture of bikes and the arm cycle thing. Followed by 10-15mins rowing and then onto the weights followed by swimming sometimes.

I've been doing free weights since Christmas but mainly just working on my arms and I've seen improvements and joined the gym to get more serious about building some muscle mass (I don't want to bulk up and be huge or look fat but an increase in size would be good) and toning up getting fitter.

Before I started the gym I was around 12.5st and now just over 2 weeks I have actually increased in weight to just under 13st but fat seems to have gone from my stomach so am guessnig the extra weight is from muscle mass.

Anyway I spoke with an instructor last week, explained to him I want to build mass a little and tone up, so he gave me the following programme:-

1. 10mins of rowing at level 10 (Thats it for my cardio even though I still get on bikes from time to time, is this bad?) My instructor says that is all I need to do.
2. 6x sets of 10 chest press with light to heavy weights.
3. 4x set of 10 peck deck, medium weight.
4. 6x set of 10 shoulder press, light to heavy weights.
5. Should raise side with medium free weights (6kg), 4x sets of 10.
6. 6x set of 10 vertical traction with light to heavy weights.
7. 4x set of 10 upper back with medium weight.
8. 4x set of 10 bicep curl with mediom weight.
9. 4x set of 10 tricep extension with medium weight.
10. 4x set of 10 abcrunch with medium weight.
11. 4x set of 10 leg press with medium weight.
12. Leg raise - 4x set of 10 (matt)
13. Situps/abcrunch - 4x set of 20 (matt)
14. Oblique twist - 4x set of 15 (matt) - Now I seem to struggle with this one!

At weekends I also do about 50-100 lengths in the pool as well followed by much relaxing in the sauna, steam room and spa.

Now my questions are:-

1. Does my routine seem good, he said in about 4 weeks to check back with him to measure my body fat and take measurements etc?
2. He mentioned protein drinks and these I've not ventured into yet but I have found the following site:- http://www.reflex-nutrition.com/store.php?sub=1&id=2
3. I am doing this routine 3-4 days a week and taking breaks for a day when I feel I am acheing etc.

Now what I don't want to do is look fat or put any fat on, what I want is to build muscle mass and tone up, increases in strength and fitness will all be a bonus. Now the two protein drinks standing out to me are the Instant Whey and One Stop. Now which would you guys suggest or would you recommend avoiding them?
 
not wanting to point a mod towards the stickys... but :p

gordyr's thread would be a great place for you to start.

the routine your instructor has given you is pretty atrocious tbh, but then thats to be expected, thats a big (mostly useless) routine to be done 3 or 4 times a week!

Protein shakes - really no need at all at the the moment for you, would be a waste of money. If you really want to have some then get plain unflavoured whey from myprotein (or similar), buy it bulk using a price matcher (www.sports-nutrition.net) and code MP15628 (extra 5% off).
only time i would recommend them for you would be post workout.
 
I think that is one of the worst routines possible. If you do this program, you will get big and you will get strong.

Monday/Wednesday/Friday
Squat 5 x 5
Bench 5 x 5
Powerclean 5 x 5

Many people don't like doing it this way but I have had great experiences with full bodies. As a beginner you should not neglect your legs, you will see astronomical strength and size gains as a beginner doing legs 3 x a week.
 
Killa_ken said:
I think that is one of the worst routines possible. If you do this program, you will get big and you will get strong.

Monday/Wednesday/Friday
Squat 5 x 5
Bench 5 x 5
Powerclean 5 x 5

Many people don't like doing it this way but I have had great experiences with full bodies. As a beginner you should not neglect your legs, you will see astronomical strength and size gains as a beginner doing legs 3 x a week.
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as a beginner that would be horrific also :p
after a 6-8 weeks on a standard routine that might be worth considering, but a 5x5 routine for new trainers is crazy :p
 
3x8 or similar would be better :). Learn the forms properly first, then add the weight. Also get your diet nailed, it's the most important thing to do.

As for whey, go to www.sports-nutrition.net and get some of their whey, 30-40g of than in a shaker with 40-80g of oats a few times a day is good.
 
benjo plz. said:
Pfft AnabolicMinds >>> Muscletalk
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Right, well i had a quick look at anabolicminds, and its full of Americans, very supplement orientated, no where near the same amount of topics, and hardly any, if any info aimed at the beginner to gain knowledge, so no, you're wrong.
 
A2Z said:
Right, well i had a quick look at anabolicminds, and its full of Americans, very supplement orientated, no where near the same amount of topics, and hardly any, if any info aimed at the beginner to gain knowledge, so no, you're wrong.
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maybe you should take a closer look. :o
 
A2Z said:
Right, well i had a quick look at anabolicminds, and its full of Americans, very supplement orientated, no where near the same amount of topics, and hardly any, if any info aimed at the beginner to gain knowledge, so no, you're wrong.
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I'd hate that site by the sounds of it, i'd just be shaking my head at all the nonsense being spouted. T-Nation is another place full of BS. I'm not really that fond of BB forums in general though.

Everything i've learned came from picking the brains of the biggest lads at the gyms around where i live, including a couple of Pro's.

May check out Muscletalk though :)
 
I present you the MP - Muscle and Size program...

Training

To begin with I will say I am not an advocate of training each muscle only once a week. I have heard many people say "well muscles need time to heal blah blah" the truth is muscles fully heal within about 48hours of a training session and it is only if you strain your central nervous system(CNS) too much that you wil not recover. This means "intensity techniques" such as forced reps, drop-sets, negatives etc are a big no-no while on this program. I also do not believe in "hitting a muscle from every angle", this is just not needed. If you stick to heavy compound lifts you will make the most of every session, not waste time doing pointless lifts and not overtrain yourself for no reason.

The training program I advocate is simple, yet very effective. Each workout should be done once a week, with no more than 3 days of consecutive workouts.

Workout 1 (Monday) - Upper body
* Flat Dumbbell (DB) Bench press 3x6(this means 3 sets of 6 reps)
* Barbell Row 3x6
* Incline Barbell (BB) bench press 2x10
* Lat Pull down 2x10
* Seated DB shoulder press 2x10
* Barbell curl 2x10

Workout 2 (Tuesday) - Lower body
* Squat 3x6
* Goodmorning 3x6
* Leg extension 2x10
* Seated calf raise 3x6

Workout 3 (Thursday) - Upper body
* Incline DB press 3x6
* Pullup 3x6
* Flat BB bench 2x10
* Cable row 2x10
* Seated shoulder press 2x10
* Barbell curl 2x10
* Close grip bench press 2x10

Workout 4 (Saturday) - Lower body
* Deadlift 3x6
* Leg press 3x6
* Leg curl 2x10
* Standing calf raise 3x10

The key to this program is progression. Once you can handle a weight easily for the desired reps add 2.5kg and continue until you reach the desired rep count again. Repeat this and you will add slabs of muscle onto your physique. If you are not getting any stronger, then you probably aren't eating enough, so re-evaluate your diet and eat more, especially around your workouts. If this does not work, then its time to slow things down for a week. Take a week off and then start afresh; it is best to do this every 8 weeks or so to give your body a chance to fully recover. Then you will be back to 100% and ready to hit the weights hard again.
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It's a good beginners routine and is well balanced imo

Start reasonable light and ensure you get the form right, then add weight as explained above and start pumping iron!

You need to get your diet right too! check gordyr's thread as stated above ^

I would change the warm-up rowing for cycling/jogging as I personally feel rowing fatigues me too much on back sessions if I want to lift heavy..

Oh yeah and the program your instructor gave you is atrocious!!!

And by the way even if you don't want to 'look like a body builder' you have to train and eat like a body-builder to gain some muscle mass! they get MASSIVE because they do it for years on end...



edit: p.s my protein routine is here! and check them out for whey protein too!

If you by whey on there use my MP Refer code: MP40171 gives you 5% and gives me like 5p

it's about £32 for 5kg of whey enter www bulkpowders.co.uk into their price matcher and select the deal...


Hope that helped!
 
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